Lisa Marcus's Liked Blog Posts

Penguin Parade

YouTube Link

This acutely adorable footage from the Monterey Bay Aquarium shows the African blackfooted penguins at the facility as they are given the freedom to waddle around and explore the space. The aquarium staff say that the activity is designed to keep the naturally inquisitive penguins happy and healthy. -Via Tastefully Offensive


Instagram Accounts That Make People Want to Drop Everything and Travel the World

Images from @ChrisBurkard, who specializes in landscape and surf photography

Some people have a permanent case of wanderlust, and need no motivatiing factors in order to make frequent travel plans. Others need a bit more of a push, whether it be a familial obligation or a description of "paradise" written in a beloved book.

@PaulNicklen – National Geographic photographer specializing in wildlife photography

The Instagram accounts featured in this post at the "How Far From Home" blog serve up just the photographic motivation one needs to book tickets by plane or train or to prep that automobile to "road trip ready" status. -Via Design Taxi

@DiscoverEarth – Beautiful outdoor photography
 


Protective Puppy Refuses to Fall Asleep While Guarding Infan...zzz

YouTube Link

A puppy stands guard next to his tiny, sleeping human, seemingly averse to falling asleep during guard duty. Yet his eyelids grow droopy. The warmth and comfort of the room and the deep breathing of the little being next to him are slowly lulling him to sleep. The pup holds out as long as he can, but acquiesces in the end. Sweet dreams, cuties. -Via Tastefully Offensive


Letters of Complaint to the FCC About SNL

Image: NBC

The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable." Less so than in the years before the internet, they also field complaints from the public about the content on those services. According to the FCC, they use such complaints to "spot trends and practices that warrant investigation and enforcement action." All written complaints older than three years are purged.  

A writer for The Atlantic sifted through three years of complaint letters to the FCC focused on the material of Saturday Night Live. Despite the first time it aired being in 2006, one offender was the Justin Timberlake sketch "D*ck in a Box." One viewer wrote, 

"It was the Christmas show suggesting that men should give women their penis in a box as a present. I was offended, let alone thinking that younger children would have the opportunity to see the program."

Another said,

"It was not funny and it was beyond vulgar. The segment even includes Justin Timberlake whom was involved in the Janet Jackson superbowl stunt."

Read more from The Atlantic about things on Saturday Night Live that bothered people enough to write letters of complaint to the FCC here.


An In-depth Interview With George R.R. Martin Regarding A Song of Ice and Fire



i09 conducted a detailed and interesting interview with George R.R. Martin concerning his A Song of Ice and Fire book series. Here is an excerpt:

"Q. Are there scenes in the Song of Ice and Fire series that you dreamed up 20 years ago, that you're finally writing? Moments you were excited to get to at last?

A. Yeah. I didn't know at first, in '91 — I didn't know quite what I had yet. I didn't even know whether it was a novel or a novella, or something, at first. So I sort of found that out. But by the summer of '91, you know, it just came to me out of nowhere, and I started writing it and following where it led. But by the end of that summer I knew I had a big series. Initially, I thought it was a trilogy, but it's grown beyond that. But the size is different, and I've introduced some other elements to the books, but it's still the same characters, the '91 characters.

Q. What was the thing that made you realize, in the middle of the first novel, that it had to be more than a trilogy?

A. It was quite at the end, it was by '95 that I realized it had to be more than a trilogy, because I had 1,500 pages of manuscript [and] I wasn't anywhere close to the end of the first book. So I said, "I know I can't get all this into three books here. I'm gonna have to break this first book into two books to get it all done." Which required a certain amount of restructuring, but I went back and I did that, I took out about 300 pages or so, and that became the beginning of the second book. And I moved things around.

Q. You've had these characters and places for 22 years, and that's a long time to live with a particular set of characters. So have you lost interest in any of those characters during that time?

A. You know, not really — because I haven't finished the story I want to tell. The story I set out to tell in 1991 is still not done. I think if I finally finish these seven books, or however many it takes, I will be tired of them. I will not necessarily be open to returning to tell more stories about the ones who survived [after the end]. There you run into a Sherlock Holmes, Reichenbach Falls sort of thing, where [the writer says], 'I'm sick of Sherlock Holmes, I never want to write any more stories about him.'  But I haven't even [finished a single story.] As many books as it is, as many words as it is, it's still one story. One story that's not finished yet. I want to finish telling that story. And then I'll worry about that."

Read the rest of the interview with George R.R. Martin here. (Warning: Contains A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons spoilers.)

Image credit: Taken from A Song of Ice and Fire calendars, including artwork by Michael Komarck, Ted Nasmith, John Picacio, Marc Simonetti and Gary Gianni 


Jessica Alba's Side Business Made Over $150 Million Last Year

Image: Gage Skidmore

Actress Jessica Alba doesn't have to worry about how she will make money if acting jobs cease to be offered to her. In 2011, Alba co-founded The Honest Company, which sells non-toxic cleaners and other items for use in the home. The product line is sold in Target and Whole Foods stores across the country. The Honest Company's sales exceeded $150 million in 2014.

Alba isn't the only movie star with a lucrative side business. Read about other celebrity ventures at Mental Floss. 


Man Gives Horse a Peck on Cheek, Horse Returns the Favor

YouTube Link

A man, while participating in a conversation among others in the space, absentmindedly and sweetly gives the horse he's standing next to a quick kiss. The horse responds by immediately kissing him back, and his surprised reaction is precious. -Via Tastefully Offensive


Pre-WWII Nazi Summer Camp in Long Island, New York



In 1935, an American Nazi organization called the German American Bund founded a Nazi camp for children, which they called Camp Siegfried. The goal of the Bund was to promote a positive image of Nazi Germany to Americans. The parcel of land in Yaphank, New York that the camp was built upon was owned by the German-American Settlement League, an organization which still exists today. 

Before the camp was shut down by the U.S. government upon Germany's declaration of war in 1941, the children who attended Camp Siegfried were taught fundamental Nazi values and participated in activities such as creating and trimming swastika topiaries, wearing Nazi uniforms and mocking U.S. policy. 

These photos are taken from a collection at the New York City Department of Records that has been recently digitized and made available by them. The NYPD took pictures such as these in the 1930s and early 1940s as records they kept on subversive political organizations. Read more about and see additional photos of Camp Siegfried at Messy Nessy Chic.

Images: New York City Department of Records


Top Ten Beer Cities



Before watching this video, try to think of the cities that might rank as the top ten beer cities, taking things such as number of pubs, number of top brewers and the level of significance beer has in the local cultures. How many continents would the cities represent? How many cities would be located in the United States? Then check out the cities listed in the video. Any surprises? -Via The Presurfer

YouTube Link


The Real Meanings of Some Words


Image: 

Sometimes when you want to know the definition of a word, the dictionary isn't the place to look. After all, dictionary definitions don't give the blunt, honest meanings of words like the explanations provided here. Get down to the brass tacks of a number of everyday words with this article, and clear up any possible confusion.

Image: 


Quiz: Can You Guess the Rent of These Brooklyn Apartments?



New York: city of astronomical rents. It may not be the only American city where you can pay unbelievable premiums for a one-bedroom, critter-inhabited hovel, but it's one example. And hey, once you leave your apartment, you have the city of New York there to soften the blow.

Once considered undesirable as opposed to Manhattan living, being located in the borough of Brooklyn is now quite acceptable if not chic in certain areas, and rent prices have caught up with the demand. Take this quiz and see if you can guess the exorbitant rents of these Brooklyn apartments.


The Happiest Video Ever

Vimeo Link

The makers of this video, Edgar's Mission Farm Sanctuary in Victoria, Australia, call this "The Happiest Video Ever," and it's not hard to see why. Everywhere you look, there's another cute creature springing into view to say hello. For animal lovers, this is a hard one to watch without a smile. -Via The Ark in Space


Pup Hits the Floor Along with His Humans During Drug Bust



The dog shown in the photo above decided to play it safe and lie down when his owners did the same during a drug bust. The raid occurred this past Thursday in Santa Catarina, a state in southern Brazil. At first the male dog was barking at police, but when his humans hit the floor of their house in compliance with police orders, the intelligent, ever loyal pup lay on his back next to them. The New York Post quoted Barnie Rico, an animal psychiatrist and dog trainer, who said a dog exposing its belly is a sign of submission:

“By exposing its soft underbelly to any potential attacker it is showing that it doesn’t mean any trouble. “The dog is also turning its head away as looking at the potential enemy can also be seen as a sign of aggression to another dog. It is clearly a very clever animal because it saw the rest of its pack give in, and decided to copy them.”

Read more about the drug bust here.

Image: Europics | Via: Uproxx


The Faces of the Members of Legendary Rock Bands Combined into One Image



Shaving and grooming products dealer West Coast Shaving created composite images of members from 30 celebrated rock and roll bands to come up with an "average" of each band's faces. The result is a fascinating study of their features; the most prominent stand out and are easy to identify when one thinks of the faces of each member. To see the facial composites of all 30 bands, visit this link.

Image: West Coast Shaving


Angora Show Rabbits: Life Doesn't Get Much Fluffier



Photographer Andres Serrano took photos of Angora rabbits participating in the National Angora Show for a New York Times article, and the resulting shots are adorable. The National Angora Show, held in Palmyra, New York, is the rabbit equivalent to the Westminster Dog Show. 

See a slideshow of bunny pictures and learn more about the competition of the National Angora Show and Serrano's controversial career at the New York Times magazine. -via Laughing Squid


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Profile for Lisa Marcus

  • Member Since 2012/12/13


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